He has fallen into sin and he is afraid that he may forget knowledge and Qur’aan

Question

Does falling into sin mean that one will inevitably forget knowledge and Qur’aan? I fall into sin but I do not persist in it, rather I feel deep regret after falling into sin and I am very afraid that my falling into sin will lead me to forget what knowledge I have acquired. To be very frank, this sin involves looking at haraam things and that which accompanies it, namely masturbation. But by Allaah, I only do that when I am in a state of stress and depression, and I find myself doing that when looking at pictures or videos with which my brothers fill the computer. My problem is that Allaah has blessed me with physical strength and I want very much to get married, but I do not have any money. I fast every Monday and Thursday and three days of every lunar month. I hope that you will reply and not leave me like this .

Answer

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Sin has a
bad effect on the one who commits it. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy
on him) has mentioned a number of its bad effects, some of which we will
mention here:

1-
Deprivation of knowledge.
Knowledge is a light which Allaah instills in the heart, but sin
extinguishes that light. When al-Shaafa’i sat before Maalik and recited to
him, he was impressed with what he saw of his deep knowledge, intelligence
and understanding, and he said: I see that Allaah has filled your heart with
light, so do not extinguish it with the darkness of sin.

2-
Deprivation of provision. In
the Musnad of Imam Ahmad it is narrated that Thawbaan (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “A man may be deprived of provision because of a
sin that he commits.” Also narrated by Ibn Maajah (4022) and classed as
hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.

3-
Alienation between the sinner
and his Lord, and between him and other people. One of the salaf said: If I
disobey Allaah, I see that in the attitude of my mount and my wife.

4-
Life becomes difficult for him;
he does not try to do anything but he finds the way barred to him or it is
very difficult; by the same token, things become easier for the one who
fears and obeys Allaah.

5-
The sinner finds darkness in
his heart, which he senses as he senses the darkness of night. The darkness
of sin affects his heart as the darkness of night affects his vision, for
obedience is light whilst disobedience is darkness. The more the darkness
increases, the greater his confusion becomes, until he falls into
innovation, misguidance and things that will doom him to Hell, without
realizing it, like a blind man who goes out in the darkness of the night,
walking alone. This darkness increases until it appears in his eyes, then it
increases until it dominates his face and becomes a “blackness” that is
visible to everyone. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas said: “Good deeds produce
radiance on the face and light in the heart, increased provision, physical
strength, and the love of others. Bad deeds produce ‘blackness’ in the face,
darkness in the heart, physical weakness, inadequate provision and the
hatred of others.”

6-
Deprivation of doing acts of
worship. Even if a sin is not punished, it prevents a person from doing acts
of worship, which are replaced with acts of disobedience, and it blocks the
path to other acts of worship, then the sin cuts off the way to a third act
of worship and a fourth and so on. So the sin prevents him from doing many
acts of worship, each of which would be better for him than this world and
everything in it. This is like a man who eats something that causes a
lengthy sickness and prevents him from eating food that is better than it.
And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek.

7-
Sin generates more sin, until
it dominates a man and prevents him escaping from it.

8-
Sin weakens the heart, reducing
its will to do good and increasing its will to sin. It weakens the will to
repent until there is no will to repent in the heart at all. This is one of
the worst of diseases and the closest to doom.

9-
It robs the heart of repugnance
towards sin, which then becomes a habit; he does not feel any discomfort at
the thought of people seeing him or talking about him.

Secondly:

The fact
that you feel under stress and are looking for a way out is a sign of
sincerity in sha Allaah, and is the beginning of repentance, by Allaah’s
leave.

Each one of
us needs to examine himself and sincerely resolve to engage in “jihad
al-nafs” against his self that is inclined towards evil, and equip himself
with the right “weapons” for that.

We will give
you some pointers which we ask Allaah to make beneficial for us and for
you:

1-
Pray to Allaah (du’aa’) and
beseech Him. Remember that Allaah will not let down the one who calls upon
Him. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And your Lord said:
“Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for
anything] I will respond to your (invocation)” [Ghaafir 40:60]. Turn to
Allaah in supplication and seek out the times and places where du’aa’ is
answered, such as when prostrating, in the last hour of the day on Friday,
and during the last third of the night when our Lord descends to the lowest
heaven and calls out, “Is there anyone who is calling, that I may respond to
him? Is there anyone asking for forgiveness, that I may forgive him?” Do not
despair of a response, for Allaah is Ever close and responds to the call of
the one who is in distress when he calls upon Him, and He grants relief from
distress.

2-
You should do more acts of
worship, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, the
good deeds remove the evil deeds” [Hood 11:114]. Seek help through
prayer, for it is as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, As‑Salaah (the prayer) prevents from Al‑Fahsha’ (i.e. great sins of
every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse) and Al‑Munkar (i.e. disbelief,
polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed)” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:45].

3-
You should be keen to increase
your knowledge of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, by learning His
names and attributes, and by thinking about the creation of the heavens and
the earth. By doing that, a person will become shy before Allaah. As one of
the salaf said: Do not think of the smallness of the sin, rather think of
the greatness of the One Whom you have disobeyed.

4-
Remember that the path to
Paradise is difficult and requires effort and
patience. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “As for those who
strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our paths (i.e.
Allaah’s religion — Islamic Monotheism). And verily, Allaah is with the
Muhsinoon (good-doers)” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:69].

5-
Think about the benefits of
lowering your gaze and make that your motive; that will help to ward off the
whisperings of the nafs and the promptings of the shaytaan. These are some
of the benefits, which we will list for you so that Allaah may benefit us
and you thereby:

·
Lowering the gaze is obedience
to the command of Allaah, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden
things)” [al-Noor 24:30]. Obedience to the command of Allaah leads to
the greatest happiness in this world and in the Hereafter.

·
It purifies the heart and soul,
and one's deeds.

·
It prevents the poisoned arrows
from having any effect, for a glance is one of the poisoned arrows of the
shaytaan.

·
The compensation for lowering
the gaze is the sweetness of faith in the heart.

·
One attains truthful insight by
means of which one can distinguish between truth and falsehood.

·
It rids the heart of the pain
of regret, for the one who lets his gaze wander will always feel regret.

·
It fills the heart with
happiness, joy and light that is greater than any pleasure derived from
looking.

·
It frees the heart from being a
prisoner of desire, for the true prisoner is the one who is the prisoner of
his whims and desires.

6-
Keep yourself busy with useful
and beneficial things, attending lessons and listening to lectures, for
there is nothing more harmful to a person than spare time and being alone.

7-
Look for righteous friends who
can help you to obey Allaah, for the shaytaan is close to the one who is
alone, but he is further away from two, and the wolf only eats the sheep
that has strayed from the flock.

8-
Avoid the things that provoke
desire in you, such as looking at haraam images, for as well as being haraam
in and of itself, it also leads to other haraam things.

9-
Masturbation is a haraam
action, and is not befitting for a decent person. There is a great deal of
evidence to show that it is haraam, which you will find in the answer to
question no. 329.

Hasten to
repent to Allaah, and fear His wrath and anger. Remember that knowledge and
righteousness are a blessing from Him, and He may become angry with the one
who disobeys Him, and withdraw those blessings from him, as He says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And
recite (O Muhammad) to them the story of him to whom We gave Our Ayaat
(proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), but he threw
them away; so Shaytaan (Satan) followed him up, and he became of those who
went astray”

[al-A’raaf 7:175]

Keep in mind
the greatness of Allaah, and remember that He is always watching you, for
nothing about you is hidden from Him.

Imagine
yourself sitting with your righteous brothers and refraining from sin out of
shyness towards them; so do not regard Allaah as the least significant of
those who are watching.

The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) advised a man among his
companions, saying: “I advise you to feel shy before Allaah as you feel shy
before a righteous man among your people.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani and by
al-Bayhaqi in Shu’ab al-Eemaan; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh al-Jaami’ no. 2541.

We ask
Allaah to ward off evil from you and to help you to obey Him and please
Him.